A significant demographic shift in community colleges reveals that more than half of enrolled students are adults aged 25 and older. In response, states are instituting reconnect programs aimed at recruiting and reengaging adult learners. Despite these initiatives, existing processes and practices within community colleges often inadequately…

Many college students experience mental and behavioral health challenges that can impede them from achieving their education and career attainment goals, especially if they lack access to appropriate care and resources. Responses to the HMS survey highlight a critical need for readily accessible mental health services at community colleges. While…

This book addresses persistent inequities in student outcomes, resource allocation, and institutional practices at community colleges, despite being known for their open access policies and educational opportunities for diverse populations. It presents research-backed strategies for creating more inclusive and effective learning environments for…

California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), California's version of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, provides cash assistance to low-income families with children. CalWORKs provides parents with cash assistance for expenses such as food, housing, utilities, or medical care, and may be…

Community colleges educate and train significant numbers of U.S. police officers. Even so, an erosion of public trust and confidence in the police has overcome communities nationwide (Fagan, 2008; Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2015). The high-profile law enforcement-related deaths of unarmed Black citizens have further heightened…

This study investigates the efficacy of cooperative quizzes in reducing test anxiety and improving course success rates among community college students. Test anxiety was measured using a mini-SPIN survey provided by the RECAPER project. Twenty students completed pre-semester and post-semester surveys. Statistical analyses revealed no significant…

The utilization and reliance of contingent faculty have grown and continue to grow more and more at institutions of higher education. Research suggests that contingent faculty have both positive and negative experiences in academia, and one common perception is that contingent faculty are underappreciated and unfairly compensated. Theoretically,…

The extent to which rural community colleges adapt effectively and in alignment with economic and technological trends significantly influences the extent to which the people and communities they serve experience economic success. Advancing understanding of how rural community college presidents across the nation lead their institutions through…

The Mobile Fact and Concept Textbook System (MoFaCTS) is an individualized online tutoring system designed to increase information comprehension and retention. It is being implemented in community college anatomy and physiology (A&P) courses for further system development. A&P was selected because it is a very challenging and highly in…

The Mobile Fact and Concept Textbook System (MoFaCTS) is an individualized online tutoring system designed to increase information comprehension and retention. It is being implemented in community college anatomy and physiology (A&P) courses for further system development. A&P was selected because it is a very challenging and highly in…

The first step to addressing equity gaps is to identify them. How can community colleges determine, with some degree of certainty, whether one or more student groups on a campus is in need of assistance in order to succeed? This paper tackles this question by delving into the three methods typically used to identify equity gaps, comparing and…

Developmental courses in community colleges often leave students unprepared, demeaned, and uninspired. These gatekeeper courses need reform, especially in terms of curriculum and instruction. One framework -- Dr. Gholdy Muhammed's Historically Responsive Literacy (HRL) -- could be useful for developmental courses and students. HRL is a teaching…

Two hundred and four students completed a web-based questionnaire distributed to a stratified sample of California community college students (n = 2,300) enrolled in hospitality management or related programs to assess the influence of community college personnel on students' degree aspirations and upward transfer of community college students to…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe reasons Federal Pell Grant-eligible community college students in California do not complete the financial aid process after submitting the FAFSA and the resources they need to complete the process. The conceptual framework of this study was Perna's (2006) multi-layered student…

The increasing number of part time instructors in the community college professorate combined with low student retention and graduation rates makes research into part time faculty and student success highly germane. My dissertation investigated if higher ratios of adjunct faculty were related to student retention, certificate/degree attainment,…